Work feed for sewing machines



Aug. 2', w- H. FISHER WORK FEED FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed July 27, 1922 4 Sheets-Shut l m i (S) Q L B T N jr wenzor.

Wilbur 17 23367267,"

M, WQ'XAE/ZT '5.

927 w. H. FISHER WORK FEED FOR SEWING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 27, 1922 IIIIIIIIIIIIII'IIII WL'Zbur H 3 Jow, (REA/F42]? Aug. 2, 1927. w. H. FISHER 1,637,373

WORK FEED FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed July 27, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 VIII/75a?" E 56572677 Patented Aug. 2, 1927.

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILBUB H. I'ISHIB, OI OTTAWA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGHOB TO A. STEIN & COHPAII'Y, OI

' CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. A CORPORATION 01' ILLINOIS.

WORK FEED 1'03 SEWING moms.

Application lied July 27, 1882. lerial No. "7,7".

M invention relates to sewing machines and has reference particularly to mechanism for guiding the work so that the stitching follows a predetermined course. a The principal objects of m invention are to rovide improved mechanism for feedmg and guiding the work during thestitching operation; to facilitate the adaptation of the machine for different arrangement of the stitching; to permit adjustment or settlng of the feeding mechanism as desired; to enable the stitching to be overlapped and the mechanism reset at a selected starting pos1- tion; to provide improved means for holding the work; and in general, to afford a simple and compact form of mechanism which may be. readily applied to standard types of sewing machines.

On the drawings: D

Fig. 1 is a front view of a sew ng mach ne with my work feeding'mechanism applied thereto, parts being broken away to dlsclose details of the construction;

Fig. 2 a top view of the bed plate of the machine With my mechanism mounted thereon, said view-being taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 a sectional viewon the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 a sectional View on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 a top view of the intermediate guide member; I

Fig. 6 a sectional view thereof on the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 a plan View of the cam plate which regulates the course of the stitching;

Fig. 8 a sectional view of the work holder on the line 88 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 an enlarged fragmentary front I View of the operating mechanism of my de- Fig. 10 a sectional view thereof taken on theline 1010 of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 11 a plan View of the pad which the illustrated form of machine is adapted to stitch.

On the drawings the reference numeral 1 indicates the bed plate of a standard sewing machine, 2 the arm thereof and the head, the latter carrying the usual reclprocable shaft or bar 4 which has the needle 5 detachabl secured to the lower end. The shuttle sha t 6 extends under the bed plate 1 in the usual manner and carries the shutbed 10 is provide tle 7 which co-o rates with the needle in forming the stitc es.

Referring particularly to the structure constitutincp my invention a guide plate 8 1s mounte on the bed p ate 1 and has a" pair of spaced guides 9 extending from front to rear of the machine and engaged by an intermediate guide member 10 whlch has an outturned flange 11' along each side, engaging the guides 9 so that the guide member 10 is confined to move forwardly and rearwardly on the bed plate 1. The guide memon its upper face and along the front and rear with spaced guideways 12 which are engaged by the ends of a rack plate 13 so that the latter is movable in the guides 12 in a direction at right angles to thedirection of movement of the guide member 10 in the guideways 9, and this rack plate 13 has an extension 14 at one side to which the work holder is connected. A marginal frame 15 is superposed above and secured to the rack plate 13 and supports a cover'plate 16 which is detachably secured to the marginal frame 15.

The rack plate 13 is formed with an internal toothed opening corresponding to the outline of the stitching which is required. A vertical shaft 19 projects up through the bed plate 1, being supported in the bearin s 20 and 21, which are arranged respective y below and above the bed plate and may be integral therewith or attached thereto, as desired, and this shaft has a inion 22 fixed on the upper end and positloned within the opening of the rack plate 13 so as to en age the internal teeth 18. At the under si e of the bed plate 1 a worm wheel 23 is loosely mounted on the shaft 19 and meshes with the worm 24 on the shuttle shaft 6 so as to be continuously driven by the latter when the sewing machine is in operation.

This worm wheel 23 is adapted to be connected with theshaft 19 by a clutch. To this end the worm wheel 23 is provided 1 with an annular skirt 25 on, the underside with a series of clutch teeth 26 around the lower edge thereof and adapted to be engaged by a corresponding series of clutch teeth 27 on the sleeve like upper end 28 of 105 the shiftable clutch member 29. The clutch member 29 is keyed onto the shaft 19 by means of the in 30 which projects at o posite sides of the shaft 19 into vertical elongated slots 31 in the clutch member 2 and the shaft 19 has a head 32 on the lower end with a spring 33 interposed between the head and the clutch member 29 for normally holdin the latter in its elevated position with t e clutch teeth 27 engaged with the clutch teeth 26. A collar 33 is secured onto the shaft 19 by a set screw 34 and projects up within the skirt 25 of the worm wheel 23 for holding the latter up in place, and the lower end of--this collar 33" is embraced by the sleeve portion 28 of the clutch 29. The clutch member 29 has an annular groove 35 which is engaged by the forked end of a shiftable lever 36 which latter has the outer end pivoted at 37 to a bracket 38 which is secured to and depends from the bed plate 1.

The guide member 10 which is confined by the ides 9 to a strai ht line movement forwar ly and rearwardly across the bed plate of the machine, is provided with an elongated slot 39 within which the upper ortion of the bearing 21 projects, this slot Being of sufiicient length to permit the necessary, forwardly and rearwardly reciprocating movement of the guide member 10 which is required to stitch the pads or other work which this machine is designed to accomplish.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, the mechanism is arranged to stitch the pads of hose supporters'having double fasteners, one of which is shown in place at 40 in Fig. 2, these pads being shaped substantially as shown at 41 in Fig. 11, and the internal opening of the rack plate 13 is correspondingly formed so that the pinion 22 when held in mesh with the teeth 18 of the rack, will cause the rack plate 13 to operate in a course corresponding to but somewhat smaller than the outline of the pad 41. For holding the rack teeth 18 in mesh with the pinion 22, the shaft 19 is rovided with a stud 42 which projects axial y above the p1nion 22 nearly to the cover plate 16, and a cam plate 43 of a form corresponding to the required course of the stitching is secured by screws 44 or other suitable fasteners to the underside of the cover plate 16 so as to engage the stud 42 and hold the teeth 18 of the rack plate, with which the cam plate 43 is fixedly connected, in mesh with the teeth of the pinion 22, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2. The rack plate 13 in following the required course of the stitching must of course be capable of universal movement, and this is accomplished by the sliding movement of the rack plate 13 in the guides 12 of the uide member 10 at right angles to the directlon of movement which the latter has in the guides 9 of the plate 8.

ment being particularly desirable for the purpose of resetting the work holder at the desired starting position after the stitching of each article is completed.

or the purpose of he ding the pad or other work during the stitching operation, a. work holder is secured to the extension 14 of the rack plate 13, and comprises a main frame 45 with an opening 46 corres onding to the form of the pad 40 and su ciently lar e enough to receive the latter therein, an on the underside of this frame member 45 is secured a thin plate 47 with a similar opening positioned to register with the opening in the plate 45 but of smaller size, to afford anarrowflan e which projects inwardly around the e ge of the openin 46 in the member 45 so as to enga e the e ges of the garter pad 40 when t e latter is placed in the opening 46, as shown in Fig. 8. It is necessary that the pad 40 should be held close against the upper surface of the bed plate 1 during the stitching operation, and the frame member 45 is therefore mounted on the extension 14 of the rack plate 13 so that the late 47 barely clears the surface of the bed p ate 1, this being accomplished in the present structure by interposing spacer sleeves 48 on the bolts 49 between the main frame 45 and the extension 14, as shown in Fig. 8.

For clampin the pad 40 in the opening 46 of the mem er 45, a marginal frame 50 is hinged at 51 to the member 45 and is adapted to be held b the spring latch 53 against the upper sur ace of the member 45. Springs 52 on the hinges 51 elevate the frame 50 when the latch 53 is released. A thin metal strip 55 is secured to the underside of the frame 50 and projects inwardly and downwardly as shown in Fi 8, said projecting portion being preferab y slitted as indicated at 56, to afford a plurality of fins 57 which resiliently engage the pad 40 beyond the inner edge of the plate 47 so as to yieldingly hold the pad 40 down against the surface of the bed plate 1, as shown particularly in Fig. 8.

The device illustrated is adapted to stitch the pads of hose supporters having two fasteners and to accommodate these fasteners while the pad is being stitched, the member 45 is provided with extensions 58 with recesses which admit the fasteners 59. Moreover, the hose supporters when stitched in this machine, have a band or strap 60 of elastic secured at one end or the other, depending on whether the hose supporter is right or left, and for the purpose of accommodating the strap 60 at either end as required, the member 45 is cut away at both ends, as indicated at 61, so that the strap 60 may project outwardly from the interior of the pad holder.

It is customary to start the stitching at member when the clutch is releas a certain point on the pad, as for example, at the corner in which the needle 5 is indicated in Fig.2, and it is desirable to overlap the stitching for a short distance, ,as indicated at 63. After the overlapping of thestitching is completed. it is desirable to return the pad holder to the startin position so that the stitching on all the p s iscommenced at the same point. To this end the clutch 26-27 is arranged to release the pinion 22 so that the latter will turn freely and permit adjustment of the pad holder to the starting position, and a lever 64 is arranged to engage a roller 65 on the uidg shift the pad holder to the starting position. For operating this resetting mechanism any convenient means may be employed. In

. of the the type of sewing machine in connection with w ich my invention is illustrated, there is a thread tension device 66 which is connected by the chain 67 to a lever 68 pivoted at 69 on a hanger 70, and the lever 68 is ada ted to be engaged b a cam 71 on a sha 72 which is operated by knee pressure upon an arm 73 so that the tension member 66 may be readily released so that the thread will feed freely. As it is desirable that the tension device 66 should be released when the pad holder is reset, I have arranged the resetting mechanism so that it operates in conjunction with the tension release. To this end there is a link 74 connecting the lever 68 with the clutch shifting lever 36, and a crank arm 75 is mounted on the shaft 72 and connected b the link 76 with the resetting lever 64. his crank arm 75 is connected by a spring 77 tothe bed plate 1 so that the lever 64 is normally held in the P position shown in Fig. 10, wherein the roller clears the inner end of the lever 64 and normally permits uninterrupted operation ad holding mechanism. When the pad holding mechanism is in the extreme forward position wherein the needle 5 is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the-roller 65 is substantially at the point indicated in full lines in Fig. 10, and as the overlapping of the stitching is eflected, this roller moves rearwardly to substantially the position shown by dotted lines at 78 in Fi 10. The arm 79 of the lever 64 IS hook-shaped, as shown in Fig. 10, so as to have a cam action against the roller 65, and when the knee lever 73 is shifted to the right, the arm 79 is raised and shifts the roller 65 from the position indicated by dotted lines at 78 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 10, thereby returnin the pad holder to the starting position. IJbviously the clutch 2627 must be disengaged before the pad holder is shifted to the starting position, and is therefore, connected with the lever 68 so that the initial movement of the latter releases the clutch. The clutch sleeve 29 is permitted a considerable movement in excess of that reuired to release the clutch so that after the c utch is released, further movement of the shaft 72 is permitted for operating the tension release 66 and for rocking the resetting member 64 toreturn the pad holder to the starting position.

In the operation of this device, assumin that the pads are in the position indicate in Fig. 2, the latch 53 is released so that the frame 50 swings upwardly under the tension of the springs 52. The complete ad 40 with fasteners 59 and band 60, is t en placed in the opening which is rovided therefor in the member 45 so that t e edges of the ad rest upon the edge of the plate 47. he frame 50 is then pressed downwardly and secured in place by the latch 53 so that the fins 57 engage the pad 40 and hold the latter down against the bed plate 1. The machine is then set in operation, and the pinion 22 which is operated from the shuttle shaft 26, co-operates with the rack teeth 18 and the cam plate 43 to move the pad holder so that the stitching follows the course indicated by dotted lines at 62 in Fig. 2, and when the pad holder reaches the starting position, the stitching is continued for a short distance, as indicated at 63in Fig. 2. The operation of the machine is then discontinued, and the needle elevated out of engagement with the pad 40 whereupon the knee lever 73 is operated, and the pad holder thereby returned to the starting position. The knee lever 7 3 is held temporaril in the releasing position so that the thread is free to run and the latch 53 is released and the ad removed and the thread pulled out to a sufficient length to properly start the stitching on the next pad.

While I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, I am aware that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of my invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination in a sewing machine; a movable work holder, 9. work holder guide assembly, one guide element of which has substantially universal movement in a horizontal plane and is connected with the work holder, said element being formed with an opening corresponding in shape to the design of stitching required, a detachable cover plate for said element, a camplate mounted on the under side of the cover plate and having the same general shape but smaller in size than the opening in the said universally movable element, and propelling means for said element operatively engaging the same within the opening therein and engaging the cam plate to move said element in a path corresponding to the configuration of the cam plate and the opening in said element.

2. The combination in a sewing machine; a movable work holder, 9. work holder guide assembly, a plate in said assembl connected with the work holder, means or mounting said plate for substantially universal movement in a horizontal plane, said plate having a toothed opening therein correspondmg in outline to the design of stitchin required, a detachable cover member for said late, a cam plate mounted on the under side of the cover member and having the same general configuration as the opening in the first mentioned plate, and (pro elling means for said first mentione pate operatively engaging the teeth extending into the opening therein and engaging the cam plate to move said first mentioned plate in a path corresponding to the configuration of the cam plate and said opening.

3. The combination in a sewing machine; a movable work holder, a work holder guide assembly supported on a fixed base on the machine, a pair of plates in said assembly mounted for interengaging sliding move ment in different directions whereby to permit one of said plates to have substantially universal movement in a horizontal plane,

said universally movable plate being connected to the work holder and having an internally toothed opening corresponding in outline to the pattern of the required stitching, a cover plate detachably secured to the universally movable plate, a cam plate having a shape similar to the opening in the universally movable plate but smaller than said opening and attached to the underside of the cover plate, and propelling mechanism for the movable plate engaging the teeth in the opening thereof and the edge of the cam plate thereby to cause the sald plate to move in a path corresponding to the outline of the cam plate and said opening.

4. The combination in a sewing machine; a movable work holder, a work holder guide assembly, a fixed supporting plate for said work holder guide assembly, a guide plate mounted thereon for sliding movement in one direction, a rack plate mounted on the guide plate for movement in another direction and having an internally toothed opening corresponding to the outllne of the stitching required, said rack plate being connected to the work holder, a frame superposed above and secured to the rack plate, a cover plate detachably secured to the frame, a cam plate having a shape similar to the shape of the opening in the rack plate but smaller than the opening, and attached to the underside -ing said plate for substantially universal movement in a horizontal plane, said plate having an opening therein corresponding in outline to the design of stitching required, a cover plate, a spacin and an porting member on said movable p ate to which said cover plate is detachably connected above said movable plate, a cam plate mounted on the cover plate parallel with the movable plate and having the same general configuration as the opening in the movable plate, and propelling means for said first mentioned plate operatively engaging the same within the opening therein and engaging the cam plate to move said movable plate in a ath corresponding to the configuration o the cam plate and the opening in said movable late.

6. The combination in a sewing macliine; a work holder formed with a frame having an opening therein for receiving the work, a clamping member attached to the frame a plate attached to the clamping member and having formed thereon resilient integral fingers engaging said work alon the line of stitching, and a member carried by the frame beneath the fingers and supporting the work to hold the same in position in the frame, said fingers overhan ing the edge of the supporting member, an mechanism for propelling the work holder in a predetermined course.

7. The combination in a sewing machine; a work holder formed with a frame having an opening therein corresponding to the outline of the work and within which the work is adapted to be received, a hinged clamping member carried by the frame, a plate attached to the clamping member and slit at spaced intervals along one edge to rovide depending fingers for engaging sai d work along the line of stitching, and a member on the rame beneath the fingers and supporting the work to hold the same in position in the frame, said fingers overhanging the edges of said member, and mechanism for propelling the work holder in a predetermined course.

WILBUR H. FISHER. 

